The difficult part of Jurgen Klinsmann’s year is over, but questions remain for the U.S. national team coach as he begins to plan for even more challenging obstacles in 2013.

First, there’s the Nov. 14 exhibition against Russia, which Klinsmann called “one of the best teams in Europe at the moment.” With the FIFA international date falling during the MLS Cup semifinals, the roster for the game in Krasnodar will be impacted by playoff results over the next seven days. The distance to the Black Sea city also will play a role.

“We can only put the final roster together in a week, pretty much,” Klinsmann said Thursday. “Every time you have an opportunity like that and go into these countries to play Italy or Russia or other big nations, you’ve got to take that opportunity.”

Then comes the question of the January camp.

For years, the U.S. has staged a lengthy training camp during the winter, primarily for MLS players and those based in the Scandinavian leagues that break at the same time. Although the games that end “Camp Cupcake” usually come against second-tier opposition, the opportunity for fringe national team players to prove themselves has proved invaluable. This year, defender Geoff Cameron and midfielder Graham Zusi built on good performances in January to become starters.

But with the final round of World Cup qualifying set to start in early February (the U.S.’s 10-game schedule will be established next Wednesday), Klinsmann might not have time to run the camp and prepare for the matches that really matter.

“We are right now discussing the entire approach for January,” he said Thursday. “It’s a bit tricky because we don’t have the schedule yet. We want to wait until next week when we finally have the schedule for the qualifiers, to see whether it starts with a home game on Feb. 6 or (if) there’s an away game.

“I’m in touch with quite a lot of coaches from Major League Soccer about the topic of a January camp that was traditionally set up. We’ll need to figure out what is the best way to approach it. It also depends on the roster for that Feb. 6 game -- how many Europeans, how many MLS-based players. It depends on the MLS calendar for next season so there’s still a bit of homework to get done. We haven’t finalized it yet and (U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati) and I wanted to have a deeper discussion and then everybody involved, over the next 10 days, once we finally have our schedule for the Hexagonal.”

Klinsmann then went on to say there still is a “big case” to be made for maintaining the January camp tradition.

“We are always looking for new faces,” he said. “We want to dig into the MLS player pool, and we want to see where the players are. ... We want to help the Under-23 generation that went through a tough 2012 because of not qualifying for London.”

At the same time, he must establish some consistency at the top end of the player pool for the tough qualifiers to come -- chemistry and experience will pay dividends in Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras.

“Maybe we reduce the time of the camp or lead the camp into that Feb. 6 fixture date so we start it much later, like in the middle of January, and go straight into that Feb. 6 date,” he said.

Klinsmann no longer is as adamant that MLS players with national team ambitions spend time on loan during the offseason. Last year, the coach lamented the relatively short length of the MLS campaign (compared to leagues abroad) and argued that a longer break put American players at a disadvantage.

This year, with the MLS season lasting about two additional weeks, Klinsmann said, “We feel comfortable with the break they have now going forward. ... Overall, from a schedule point of view, we are fine with how it is laid out right now.”

Klinsmann has said several times that he’s looking to build two rosters for 2013 -- one team to tackle the World Cup qualifying schedule and another side for next summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. That Gold Cup team likely will include several players with minimal international experience, including members of this year’s Under-23 national side. That is yet another reason to implement some kind of expanded practice schedule in January.

“It’s an important point to get your hands on those younger guys and see where they’re at,” Klinsmann said. “It is an important point to consider a January camp for them. At the same time, we look at them to see how they dealt with that (Olympic) disappointment. ... In 2013, there will be plenty of opportunities for those youngsters to show what they’re capable of.”

Klinsmann must monitor that complex big picture while at the same time improving his first-choice side and further implementing the style of soccer he wants his team to play.

Landon Donovan’s mental and physical health must be evaluated, an apparent rift with Jozy Altidore also must be healed (Klinsmann’s evasive response to a reporter’s question about the AZ Alkmaar striker may have been the shortest of any kind since he took the job) and a bit more work establishing a pecking order among the back four likely is required.

It won’t be easy, but Klinsmann has established a good foundation. The U.S. is 9-2-2 in 2012, among the best one-year records in recent memory, finished first in its semifinal-round qualifying group and earned big road wins at Italy and Mexico.

“The year was highly interesting,” he said.

Next year will be even more so, and for Klinsmann it already has begun.